Friday, February 18, 2011
The Metaphorical & Party City
The last part of the movie we saw where Jack and Ennis get ready to part to go back to their lives off of Brokeback (1:43:45 - 1:48:33) stays pretty close to their interaction in the text (on page 83), which makes sense because a majority of the text is dialogue. However right after Jack says "I wish I knew how to quit you" Annie Proulx unknowingly threw Ang Lee a curve ball: "Like vast clouds of steam from thermal springs in winter the years of things unsaid and unsayable - admissions, declarations, shames, guilts, fears - rose around them" (83). This sentence was at the top of my "good luck Ang Lee" list; how could he possibly re-create and express the simile rich with imagery that Proulx chose? What choice could he use that would have the same affect, that is if there even is any choice that could possibly hold the same weighty connotation that sentence carries as well as the effect the abstract imagery has on the reader? The only way I could think of to actually get this detail across through film without a narrator was if it was shown on the screen (even though it's metaphorical). But then I imagined Ang Lee venturing into Atlantic Center to get fog machines from party city, so he could surround Jack and Ennis with them in the scene, and what that would look like on the screen. Despite my outrageous imaginings of Ang Lee shopping, I'm pretty sure that actually showing the figurative imagery would take away and distract from any significance and emotion in the scene. But I do think that the heaviness in heartache and struggle that this line connotes is definitely captured in the scene by the actors, so much of the weight and impact of its affect is effectively adapted, even if the striking imagery evoked by it isn't.
Intentional Details
I love the little details that tie scenes together. I have seen a lot of parallels in this movie
jack losing his hat bullriding, lureen losing her hat racing. Ennis being hugged from behind by Jack with his hands in a diagonal on ennis's chest in the beginning of Brokeback and then later when they have grown older, Ennis coming up behind Jack. It shows a change in who has i guess the "power" in the relationship. *
one of my favorite details is funny and not as descrete as other clever details. when alma and ennis are have sex and he turns her over, I laughed a little and then felt terrible for alma. The obvious cause of this position, an inuendo to gay sex.
another scene that i found wonderful was when ennis dropped the kids off at the grocery store and his daughter broke nearly all of the jars. That encounter with the manager was needed and added another dimension to seeing her with him as the new husband. Whoa i just had a thought i think she was cheating on ennis with him because she was taking on extra shifts (like when she ran out on ennis and he was like, any of you need a push?).
*questionable.. anyone have something to say about whether they have changed or not?
jack losing his hat bullriding, lureen losing her hat racing. Ennis being hugged from behind by Jack with his hands in a diagonal on ennis's chest in the beginning of Brokeback and then later when they have grown older, Ennis coming up behind Jack. It shows a change in who has i guess the "power" in the relationship. *
one of my favorite details is funny and not as descrete as other clever details. when alma and ennis are have sex and he turns her over, I laughed a little and then felt terrible for alma. The obvious cause of this position, an inuendo to gay sex.
another scene that i found wonderful was when ennis dropped the kids off at the grocery store and his daughter broke nearly all of the jars. That encounter with the manager was needed and added another dimension to seeing her with him as the new husband. Whoa i just had a thought i think she was cheating on ennis with him because she was taking on extra shifts (like when she ran out on ennis and he was like, any of you need a push?).
*questionable.. anyone have something to say about whether they have changed or not?
Age
What I really liked about this third part of the movie, was the way Ang Lee showed age in the movie Brokeback Mountain. As time progressed, the hair and facial hair that they originally had would change drastically. For example, Jack originally didn't have a mustache or the longer hair but later int he movie, he did. Enis looked naturally older with his wrinkly face.
Another thing I really liked was how Jack finally "grew up" and stood up to his father-in-law. His wife was also very happy about that I think she was glad to see a change in Jack, but I think that was an effect of Enis being busy and him being angry because he had to wait for a long time.
Another thing I really liked was how Jack finally "grew up" and stood up to his father-in-law. His wife was also very happy about that I think she was glad to see a change in Jack, but I think that was an effect of Enis being busy and him being angry because he had to wait for a long time.
Music
The film brings the feelings alive for me because it focuses on two key senses: sight and hearing. Personally, this is why I like the film more than the story. The film is able to show a lot more without telling cause that's what pictures do, while the story is just a narrated fiction.
The use of music is something that's been really interesting to me. Every lanscape shot comes with the quiet acoustic guitar and pedal steel in that picking pattern that sometimes resolves on a disonant or augmented note, which can induce the feeling of a potential issue arising, that when all seems perfect, something could go wrong, or just not as planned. It's a note that surprises the listener, it's not an expected note, not as cliched. One example of this I found interesting after they have sex and ennis is riding away, i think. I don't have netflix i can't check, but the music is very fitting.
As the movie goes on, the music becomes more full and more paramount with the addition of a string section in the same theme. The more emotional the scene, the stronger the strings.
the bands that play during the dances sing songs that evoke some interesting emotion. When ennis is at the bar and the cassie puts on "sweet melissa" by the allman brothers, i was expecting her to have some big role in that scene, and then they start dancing. Of course cassie is no melissa, that's jack. Ennis will be "running home to" (song lyrics) jack.
The use of music is something that's been really interesting to me. Every lanscape shot comes with the quiet acoustic guitar and pedal steel in that picking pattern that sometimes resolves on a disonant or augmented note, which can induce the feeling of a potential issue arising, that when all seems perfect, something could go wrong, or just not as planned. It's a note that surprises the listener, it's not an expected note, not as cliched. One example of this I found interesting after they have sex and ennis is riding away, i think. I don't have netflix i can't check, but the music is very fitting.
As the movie goes on, the music becomes more full and more paramount with the addition of a string section in the same theme. The more emotional the scene, the stronger the strings.
the bands that play during the dances sing songs that evoke some interesting emotion. When ennis is at the bar and the cassie puts on "sweet melissa" by the allman brothers, i was expecting her to have some big role in that scene, and then they start dancing. Of course cassie is no melissa, that's jack. Ennis will be "running home to" (song lyrics) jack.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Eternal Love
Walking out of class today I was a little frustrated with the movie. I felt like Ennis and Jack never changed. Yes they grew out their facial hair, and shaved from time to time, but for the most part I saw no differences. I feel like if you add up all the times that Jack and Ennis were together on Brokeback, the audience realizes how little time they spent together, even though they've actually known each other for years. After putting a lot of thought into it, I realized that I felt like Jack and Ennis' relationship went on for eternity, making it seem as though their love was everlasting.
Ang Lee used setting to enforce this feeling: Brokeback Mountain. At one point when Ennis tells Jack that he won't be able to see him until November; Jack is standing in front of the mountains. It was at this point that I realized that Jack represented stability. If we look at Ennis and his life up until this point in the movie, the audience will notice that he has been through a lot. His wife divorced him, he doesn't have a good paying job, he feels like people know he's gay, and he isn't much of a talker. The odds are against him, he hasn't been able to conform and hide his sexuality as well as Jack has. Jack on the other hand, aside from the fact that he misses Ennis, hasn't had any real problems. And so, it bothered me that Jack constantly suggested that he and Ennis leave their families and move in together, and even after Ennis says no, he still hopes. These hopes are what help their love still lives on.
Ang Lee used setting to enforce this feeling: Brokeback Mountain. At one point when Ennis tells Jack that he won't be able to see him until November; Jack is standing in front of the mountains. It was at this point that I realized that Jack represented stability. If we look at Ennis and his life up until this point in the movie, the audience will notice that he has been through a lot. His wife divorced him, he doesn't have a good paying job, he feels like people know he's gay, and he isn't much of a talker. The odds are against him, he hasn't been able to conform and hide his sexuality as well as Jack has. Jack on the other hand, aside from the fact that he misses Ennis, hasn't had any real problems. And so, it bothered me that Jack constantly suggested that he and Ennis leave their families and move in together, and even after Ennis says no, he still hopes. These hopes are what help their love still lives on.
Relationships
Today, we slogged through much of the movie, so it was a little hard to be exact and concrete, but one of the significant things I noticed about the film was its depiction of relationships. Ennis initally seemed to connect with his girls as babies, but as they grow up, they become almost foriegn and strange, and he shows a lack of communication. The scene with his teenaged daughter felt tragic, as if he is losing everyone he loves (except for Jack.) Alma seems to be the dominant mother, and while I think Michelle Williams was great in this role, I have to unashamedly say that she seemed to be crying most of the time, although I understood her pain. By contrast, Jack seems to be much more invested with his family, especially his son (That footaball moment was powerful!), and trying to get him a tutor. Lureen is a little bit like Ennis, in the relationship, but focusingon her work and career. I thought Lee's portryal of both men filling opposite roles in their families was really good.
Lastly, Lee's use of music is very expressive, especially Jack confidently driving to "King of the Road" and then returning with the melancholy accompaniment of "A Love that will Never grow old." Later in Mexico, "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps," is heard while Jack debates about whether he should sleep with the male prostitute, but ultimately gives in. The asynchrounous sound during J. and Ennis's final fight, was really good, with the music at the end punctuating the sad, tragic seperation of the two.
Lastly, Lee's use of music is very expressive, especially Jack confidently driving to "King of the Road" and then returning with the melancholy accompaniment of "A Love that will Never grow old." Later in Mexico, "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps," is heard while Jack debates about whether he should sleep with the male prostitute, but ultimately gives in. The asynchrounous sound during J. and Ennis's final fight, was really good, with the music at the end punctuating the sad, tragic seperation of the two.
Ennis the Menace
Although Brokeback Mountain is a very well made movie in the second half Lee runs out of material and starts making things up about Ennis. He strays a little too far from what Proulx originally intended the character to be like. After Ennis and Alma’s fight at Thanksgiving in the original story it says “He didn’t try to see his girls for a long time…”. In Lee’s adaptation he keeps in contact with his daughters and sees them occasionally, whereas Proulx makes him into a father that will leave his kids and wait for them to find him. Lee changes the character a little too dramatically and makes it almost hard to believe it is the same person. Although people can change over time generally they do not change everything about themselves.
Where I start to have even more trouble with the changes and liberties that Lee has taken with the story is around the time that Ennis meets Cassie the waitress. If Proulx’s had wanted Ennis to meet a waitress, she would have had him meet a waitress. I’m sure that it wasn’t that she couldn’t think of it, she just didn’t feel it was a necessary thing to happen. Although it is clear that Ennis and Cassie the waitress are not destined to be together, it is still a little disconcerting to see him with a woman that the audience assumes he is pretending to be infatuated with. Lee takes Ennis from the cowboy with a secret love affair and wife and children to the cowboy who dates a seemingly random waitress in platform sandals.
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